If you are off to Europe this weekend to the Christmas markets, there should be some fair weather and it won’t be too cold. If you are hoping for snow, you might be disappointed, although there could be some frost in eastern Europe.
By day, there will be some crisp, dry weather and hopefully sunshine as the cloud cover breaks. With light winds, that’s not all bad, but anyone searching for a wintry scene would need to be heading to Lapland.
High pressure over mainland Europe is bringing a lot of settled, dry weather to mainland Europe. This remains for the weekend. If you are heading to Germany, Belgium or the Czech Republic over the middle weekend of December, rain should be a problem. Perhaps only if you are travelling from an airport in the northwestern half of the UK, where it will be wet and windy..
It will be cool by day and cold in the evenings and overnight but not the depths of winter, nor sub-zero temperatures that can affect inland Europe. There has been a flow of milder air from the south, which we here in the UK have also been experiencing.
Where is the cold air? Further east, you can see on the thickness chart the dark blue to purple area. That is deep cold from the Arctic plunging down over eastern Europe, western Russia and across Kazakhstan.
Temperatures in Germany, for Berlin around 7C by day but down to 3C overnight. In the south for Munich, Saturday could see a milder 8C in the sunshine but cold at night and only 5C on Sunday
In Czechia, Prague will be around 5 or 6C by day and brighter on Sunday but only 1C at night.
Bruges will start off mild at 11C this weekend and only falling to 6C by night, with a dry weekend but not always sunny. Sunday will feel colder.
On the satellite image from 10th, you can see a wide swathe of frontal cloud over northern mainland Europe. There are also clear (sunny) areas where you can see the dendritic patterns of fog filling low valleys where cold air stagnates. Also, the snow cover over the tops of the Alps. There hasn’t been much snow recently, just the odd cm in the Three Valleys region of France and for a few Italian resorts.
Munich
"How to experience Munich shortly before Christmas: The scent of mulled wine and bratwurst wafts through the streets. Glittering shop windows and traditional handicraft businesses invite you to go shopping. Or visit the world's most extensive collection of nativity scenes in Munich." Simply Munich
Prague
"Christmas in Prague is a time when the Gothic spires, Baroque churches, and narrow lanes of the city’s Old Town are swathed in twinkling lights, the fragrance of spices, and the sound of carols. The city’s squares fill with wooden stalls featuring straw ornaments and handcrafted gifts, while the scent of mulled wine, mead, roasted chestnuts, and gingerbread drifts from beneath the grand Christmas trees." Prague.eu
Bruges
"Winter Glow 2025 in downtown Bruges: A new Light experience trail, ice skating with unique decor, a cosy winter bar, two Christmas markets, and shopping fun during the many shopping days filled with atmospheric lighting and Christmas decorations. " Visit Bruges
Worth checking as you travel is Meteo Alarm which brings together all the weather warnings of the National Meteorological services across Europe. It displays today and tomorrow quite reliably and some countries information a few more days ahead. It's a quick check, all in one place. There has been dense fog midweek for northern Italy and Hungary, which can impact flights.
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